Community Relations Council’s Core Funding Programme – UK

Deadline: 15-Nov-2024

The Northern Ireland Community Relations Council’s (NICRC) Core Funding Programme contributes towards the salary and running costs for organisations that are considered of strategic importance in promoting community relations work in Northern Ireland.

Thematic Impact

• The Council would also welcome applications that support the following areas of activity:
  • Work which supports and develops the next generation of good relations practitioners as this relates to emerging challenges such as: sustainability; the environment; poverty; the changing nature of communities; and good relations from a global perspective.
  • Work which aims to engage communities on emerging issues of concern identified by applicant groups as requiring priority intervention. The need for such work will need to be clearly evidenced by applicant groups.

Key Principles

• The work must be intentional: Regardless of the grant scheme, a programme must have a clear good relations purpose from the outset. A programme which brings different communities together for a common activity will have very limited value unless it has deliberated and planned activities which directly address sectarianism.
• It must address an identified good relations need: All applications must be able to clearly demonstrate the good relations need they want to address and how they have identified this need.
• It should evidence what are the targets/outcomes it will use to measure impact: Having identified the need, projects must be able to identify the programme outcomes by which they will measure the change they want to see for participants i.e. they have a more positive understanding and regard for members of different communities.
• Its unique contribution to good relations: Programmes should demonstrate how they have considered other good relations programmes taking place in their areas and how their proposal will compliment or enhance this work.

Funding Information

• The Core Funding Programme has an annual budget of approximately £1.2m and supports around 30 organisations each year.
• The amount awarded per organisation normally ranges between £20,000 and £80,000 per annum with an average award of £42,000.

Eligibility Criteria

• NICRC will carefully consider an organisation’s capacity to manage public monies and deliver on its agreed contractual obligations. In deciding which proposals to fund, applications are initially assessed for eligibility. This will either rule an application to be eligible or ineligible for further consideration. This eligibility check considers:
  • Whether you are legally able to operate in Northern Ireland
  • If your organisation is financially viable (latest copies of audited and management accounts will be scrutinised).
  • That there is clear demonstration that robust financial and reporting systems are in place.
  • That proposed beneficiaries are all Northern Ireland based.

Ineligibility Criteria

• They do not fund:
  • Work which falls within the remit and responsibility of other funders including but not exclusive to:
    • work with minority ethnic or minority faith communities (TEO Minority Ethnic Development Fund); or
    • work with victims and survivors (Victims and Survivors Service).
    • Proposals submitted by individuals.
    • Work outside of Northern Ireland.
    • The scheme will not support the running of campaigns to support political activities, or to lobby for or against particular pieces of legislation.

For more information, visit Community Relations Council.